Mischief Managed
by GeminiScorp
Summary: Misguided friends and an Enchanted Mirror with a mind of its own give Hermione the best birthday present she could ever want: Severus Snape.
1. Chapter 1

**Mischief Managed**

"I've got it!"

"Got what?" Ron muttered sleepily, wishing Harry would shut up so he could go back to the lovely massage he'd been dreaming about.

"Hermione's birthday present. It's perfect. Now wake up." Harry pushed Ron's arm off his chest and sat up leaning on the numerous pillows littering their bed. "I've been trying to come up with something really special for her for the last hour, and I think I've finally got it."

Ron groaned and snuggled closer, rewrapping his arm around Harry's torso.

"Come on, Ron. Wake up." Harry wiggled trying to dislodge the arm which was now holding him firmly in place. "She'll be twenty-four on Friday, and I want this to be a really special birthday for her. Her life's been pretty shitty lately."

"Nothing she hasn't brought on herself," he mumbled into Harry's side, his eyes still firmly closed.

"Ron! She's our best friend."

"Oh? Really?"

"Not this again," Harry huffed. "Honestly."

"Well you have to admit she took forever—"

"Yeah, yeah," Harry snapped and pushed away from him. "We've been through all this before so stop being a jerk about it. It took a lot of people a long time to come around—some still haven't—but Hermione did, and she supports us one hundred and fifty percent.

"You're just mad because she made you clean up after dinner last night," Harry finished in a huff.

"Hmm, maybe I am." Ron grunted as he rolled onto his back dragging the pillow over his head before he continued, "But I still say she's only playing nice because she needs a place to stay."

"That's not true and you know it," Harry said, taking the pillow and hitting Ron over the head with it. "I am not having this argument with you again. She wants us to be happy."

"And we are happy, happier than I'd ever expected." Ron lifted the pillow of his face and leaned over to kiss Harry's shoulder.

Harry smiled down at his best mate and now lover. "Yes we are." He kissed the top of Ron's head gently and smoothed down the ginger hair that was pointing in every direction. "That's why my idea is so perfect. You want to hear what it is?"

Ron groaned but nodded yes.

"The Mirror," Harry said. "The Mirror of Erised," he repeated looking entirely too pleased with himself.

Rolling onto his side Ron waited for Harry to elaborate. "And …" he prompted after a moment.

"Don't you see? When she looks into the Mirror, she'll see who she truly desires."

"And?"

"And then she'll be happy. As happy as we are." Harry beamed.

"Okay. I'm confused. She'll look in the mirror and she'll be happy. How exactly?"

"She'll see her true love."

"Hermione?" Ron rolled his eyes. "You're talking about Hermione Granger, bookworm extraordinaire? Honestly, Harry, all she'll probably see is a pile of books."

"Be nice, Ron, okay? She's not going to see books, I'm sure of it," Harry said with conviction. "Don't you see how she looks at us? How she watches your sister and Oliver when they visit? She wants this." He gestured between the two of them. "She wants to be in love. She just doesn't know how to go about it."

"Are you barmy? Hermione doesn't want love. She wants … she wants … Oh, hell, I don't know what she wants but it's not love! That woman's a cold fish. I should know," he mumbled the last bit under his breath and was immediately sorry he had.

Harry's lips pursed together slightly and he raised his eyebrows. "You should know? Give me a break," he said as he pushed off the duvet and made to get up.

Ron reached over and grabbed Harry's hand before he could leave the warmth of their bed. "Sorry," he said as he kissed Harry's palm.

"Let's say you're right," he continued quickly. "Maybe she does want love, but you can't guarantee that's what she'll see in that mirror. Doesn't it show you what you most desire at that moment? I saw myself as Head Boy, you saw your parents. Most likely she's just going to see herself with a great job or kicking Malfoy's arse. You know, something like that."

"Mmm, maybe." Harry settled back onto his nest of pillows and looked intently at Ron. "Did I ever tell you what I saw when I looked in the mirror last year during the anniversary celebration? I was wandering the halls reminiscing, and I turned a corner and there it was."

"No," Ron said. He frowned at Harry. "Why the hell didn't you tell me? I would have wanted to look into it, too."

"Why didn't I tell you? Well, because I saw … you," Harry said quietly.

Ron felt his heart leap at Harry's words. "Me?"

"Yes, you. And that's what I want for Hermione. The mirror made me realize I had to go after what I wanted, no matter what the consequence." This time Harry's smile made Ron's heart melt. "I was blessed. I got my true desire."

He leaned over and lightly kissed Harry's lips. "You did?" He kissed him again as Harry nodded. "I guess I have a lot to be grateful for to that mirror," he said softly, his lips pressed against Harry's.

"I don't think I would have ever taken the chance without seeing we could be possible first. I'd wanted you before but the mirror gave me the courage to try." Harry said then deepened the kiss Ron had started. For the next few minutes Hermione was completely forgotten.

Eventually Ron pulled away, though reluctantly. "Fine," he began a bit breathless. "I'll help. Granted, I don't think she's going to see her true love or some nonsense like that, but I'll help if this is what you want."

"I do, and it'll work. Trust me," Harry said and snuggled under Ron's arm.

"Okay. So what's the plan? You know she won't look willingly, don't you? She'll say the mirror is stupid Divination bullshit and refuse to have anything to do with it."

"We'll have Kreacher put it in her rooms before she gets up on Friday. Then she won't know what she's looking at."

"I don't know, Harry. That sounds dangerous. This is Hermione we're talking about."

"It'll be fine."

Ron arched an eyebrow at the back of Harry's head. "Say that would actually work, how are you going to find the mirror? It's hidden at Hogwarts, isn't it?"

"I've got that part figured out, too." Ron could feel Harry smile even if he couldn't see it.

"Fred," Harry stated plainly, as if it explained everything.

"Fred?"

"Yep. Fred's ghost. I'm sure we can get him to find the mirror for us—though probably for a price—and once he does, I'll ask Kreacher to Apparate it here and put it in her room. She'll look into it without knowing what it actually is, and then once she's done, we'll have Kreacher take it back. That way no one at Hogwarts will even know it's gone."

"Fred and Kreacher? You want to rely on Fred and Kreacher for help? With those two involved, something is bound to go horribly wrong. You know that don't you?"

"Oh, Ron, think positive." Harry squirmed out of Ron's embrace to face him. "You wait and see. This will be the best birthday present Hermione's ever had!"

And then Harry proceeded to make sure Ron forgot all about any qualms he may have had.

~~oOo~~

Hermione woke earlier than usual and skipped her newly required ritual of wasting an hour in bed wallowing in self-pity. It was a bad habit she'd fallen into over the last six months.

Today was her birthday. It was a day for fresh starts, and she'd promised herself that she was done feeling sorry for herself. Draco—_fucking_—Malfoy wasn't going to get the best of her! Who cares if he'd had her fired? Who cares if he'd had her blacklisted? That stupid job had been a dead end anyway. The memory of him running around as a scrawny white ferret for an afternoon was almost enough to make up for it all. He shouldn't have repetitively called her Mudblood, the stupid, immature asshole.

She glanced at the clock and silently thanked Harry once again for giving her the room with the en-suite bathroom. She had a full day ahead of her, and she didn't want to be late.

As she let the hot water run down her body, she thought about the last six months of her life. Unemployment was killing her. She'd spent a few months bewildered by the fact that doors were being slammed in her face before she'd realized just how far the Malfoy influence actually extended. Sure, she'd been offered a couple of jobs, but there was no way in hell she was going to be the Night Bus attendant no matter how desperate she got.

Harry had come through and offered her a place to stay right as her savings was almost depleted. Grimmauld Place wasn't the most ideal living arrangement for her right now, but it was better than being homeless. She might have been happier to be here with her two best friends, but when those two best friends were a couple, it was a nightmare. She loved them both, but Ron and Harry romantically involved was irritating at best. Who would have thought she'd be jealous of their relationship, but … she was. It really got under her skin how bloody happy they were together.

Yes, introspection had become her new best friend while living with Harry and Ron. She'd inspected and dissected every aspect or her life, trying to fit the pieces back in a way that made more sense. She'd made endless lists, read piles of self-help books, and finally crafted a plan. A good solid plan always helped to empower her.

_And what better day to start plan implementation than her birthday?_

She'd purposely scheduled meetings with two recruiting agencies for today, one Wizarding and one Muggle. Her plan was to get a job, despite Draco and his spiteful machinations, move out of Harry's house and away from the love-fest, and then—then she'd go about finding a partner of her own.

She rinsed the conditioner from her hair and turned off the water. Yes, she'd even made a rudimentary plan for finding love. She'd spent the better part of last week making a thorough list of personality and physical characteristics that she felt were important in a mate. After her job situation was rectified, she vowed to take her list of qualities and start looking in earnest. She knew she needed someone intelligent, a brilliant conversationalist—if she could manage—and someone with integrity and honor. She figured if she started haunting academic lectures and such, she might find someone that met enough of her criterion for her to take a chance on. If that didn't work out, she supposed she'd resort to a dating agency. If she trusted an agency enough to find her a job, why not a potential husband?

Wringing the excess water from her hair, she pulled aside the shower curtain to grab her towel.

"_AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!_" she screamed and tried desperately to cover her naked body with her hands. Twisting to look behind her, her feet slipped forward. Arms and legs flailing, she caught herself just before her knees hit the bottom of the tub. Horrified and confused, she peeked back up at the image in front of her.

The imposing man appearing in the mirror above the sink hadn't moved a muscle. He just stood there scowling. His eyebrows were furrowed together and his lips held an all-too-familiar sneer.

"What the hell?" Her head swiveled from side to side checking again that no one was behind her. Reassured that she was in fact alone in the shower, she made a grab for her towel only to find it just out of reach. To reach it she would have to stand and expose herself to the image in front of her.

Damn it! This was the last time she'd bathe without her wand within reach!

A long gilded mirror was fastened to the wall directly across from her. How it got there—and why she was seeing this particular man in it—was beyond her.

Of course the more pertinent question, however, was if she could see him … could he see her?

"Professor Snape?" she whispered, hoping against hope he wouldn't respond.

He didn't move a muscle.

"Professor," she said louder. Nothing.

"Professor?" she practically yelled this time. He continued to glower but made no other move or sign that he'd heard her. She relaxed minutely—so this didn't appear to be some sort of two-way communication device, after all.

But what was it? A practical joke? A Wheeze product?

That must be it. Ron and Harry were notorious for testing out Wheeze products on unsuspecting victims. Just last week they'd had her believing she'd somehow developed the power of telepathy. They'd spent a full hour saying random and embarrassing things without moving their mouths whilst they ignored each other. They had laughed long and hard at her apparent embarrassment to what she had thought was their inner dialogue. Ron's assessment of Harry's physical characteristics had been the worst!

So this must be a new line they were developing. Perhaps a product to frighten children into behaving better. She supposed it would be an effective measure to have such a realistic version of Professor Snape glaring down at you as you did your homework. Sort of like being in detention, really. She bet it uttered snide comments if you started goofing around too much.

Idiot boys! The bathroom hardly seemed the most suitable venue for such an item. Why would they put it in here? Shock value?

The cold was making her shiver, and if she didn't hurry, she was going to be late. So, the question was should she grab her towel and give the man a free show if for some reason he could actually see her, or should she rip down the shower curtain for cover?

Her dilemma was solved a moment later when Snape started moving around behind the frame, and she was able to take advantage of his turned back to grab her towel and yank the shower curtain closed behind her.

Once dry and covered, she escaped to the bedroom to get dressed. Retrieving her wand, she returned less than five minutes later to do away with the mirror. She'd thoroughly admonish the boys for this later. She was much too busy to be bothered with such adolescent foolishness today.

Quickly examining the object in front of her, she ignored the man who was now sitting in an overstuffed chair, sans cloak and jacket, reading what looked like a Muggle magazine.

Not that she was paying any attention to him, of course.

It was the mirror she was interested in, not the man. It looked ancient, and now that she was standing so close, she could feel the magic pulsing from it.

She had to give George credit, his craftsmanship was getting better every day, but why the hell put so much effort into a product like this? She just couldn't see this selling well.

She glanced up at the mirror's top and made out the words _Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi _faintly inscribed at the peak.

Okay.

So it wasn't something to frighten irresponsible children.

They'd made a replica of the Mirror of Erised. Whatever for?

Heart's desire?

Hermione pounded the sink in front of her. How dare they!

Wasn't her life horrid enough right now? She didn't need them making fun of the fact she was alone. Confiding in Harry that she was lonely had obviously been a mistake. Damn him.

They probably thought it hilarious showing her a vision of Professor Snape as her heart's desire. She'd always defended the man when Harry and Ron took to vilifying him in her presence. Ron especially had hated her loyalty and trust in the professor—so much in fact that he used to tease her about being in love with the dour man. Now they were using him to add insult to injury.

Great. Just great.

She looked at the glass as the professor raised his eyes from the magazine and smiled, really smiled at something in the distance.

She leaned in closer. He had a nice smile. He'd fixed his teeth—they were no longer crooked and stained—and his eyes lit up as if he were truly happy. He looked different. He was still a very slim man, but his cheeks weren't quite a sunken as they'd been the last time she'd seen him, and his hair was noticeably longer. He wore it pulled back away from his face in a style that showed off his jaw line and neck nicely.

Hermione stared at the mirror and was shocked to realize, as the professor turned his head, that even with his pronounced nose he had a very becoming profile.

_Arghhh!_

She was becoming entranced by a glamorized doppelganger! There must be a damn Fascination Charm on this thing.

She raised her wand, flicking it swiftly to the left and right, and said the words to vanish the mirror into oblivion. Who cared how long they'd worked on it. They should have known better than to test it on her.

_"Evanesco."_

The mirror didn't budge.

She flicked again, enunciating more clearly.

But the mirror remained in front of her. Not even a shimmer or blink to show the spell had some effect.

She jabbed and poked.

She tried every variation of Removing, Un-Sticking, Vanishing, and Destroying charms she could think of.

She tried to manually remove the mirror from the wall.

She yanked. She pulled.

Nothing worked.

Half an hour later she was frustrated, starving, in need of another shower and worst of all … late.

Those two weren't getting off easy for this stupid prank. Perhaps it was time to pull out Ginny's old Bat Bogey Hex!

~~oOo~~

She pushed open the kitchen door and found the boys exactly where she had expected them, sitting at the kitchen table, Ron's arm around Harry, reading the sports page of the i_Prophet_/i together. Lovey-dovey as always!

"Hermione!" Harry jumped up excitedly and hurried over to her. "Happy birthday!" he said, wrapping his arms around her in a hug.

Ron stood, but hesitated. "Happy birthday, 'Mione," he wished from a safer distance.

"Happy birthday? I don't think frightening me to death is the proper way of wishing me a happy birthday. Do you?" She pushed out of Harry's arms and scowled at him.

"What?" Harry stuttered, confused. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? I nearly killed myself getting out of the shower this morning; that's what's wrong. Why the hell did you put that thing in the bathroom anyway? I'm pretty damn sure I would have suffered the full effect even if it had been in my bedroom," she said as sarcastically as she could.

Ron and Harry exchanged a look.

"Umm, the bathroom?" Ron asked tentatively.

"Yes!" she snapped. "I pulled open the bloody shower curtain and there it was. A huge fucking mirror! Didn't you hear me scream?"

"No, umm … we didn't. Sorry, Hermione. We would have checked on you if we had, honest. Are you okay?" Harry asked again.

"No, I'm not okay! It wasn't remotely funny and I could have seriously injured myself."

"Kreacher was just supposed to put it somewhere in your room, Hermione," Ron blurted out in their defense. "We didn't tell him to put it in the bathroom. Really, we never meant to scare you."

"Kreacher! You had Kreacher do this? You two seriously need to grow up!" she yelled and pulled out her wand.

"Calm down. Calm down. Put your wand away, we're sorry," Harry said holding up his hands in surrender.

"You'd better be! And that … that thing had better be gone before I get home," she yelled as she pointed her wand at Harry's chest. "It's stuck to the wall, and nothing I tried could remove it! I seriously cannot believe you two would do this to me. A practical joke—on my birthday—when you know I have interviews with the recruiters this morning. And such a hurtful prank on top of it!" She was close to tears but refused to let the boys see her like that.

"Hurtf— "

She caught Ron shooting Harry a reproachful look out of the corner of her eye as he interrupted him. "I made coffee," he said to her. "Want a cup?"

As Ron scooted past the two of them he turned and mouthed a quick _'I told you so' _to Harry.

"I saw that," she called to Ron before turning back to glare at Harry.

"I'll make you a big breakfast," Harry began to ramble, his eyes wide. "All your favorites. You'll feel better after you've eaten. Oh, and we have presents for you. I was going to save them for the party tonight but you can open them now if you'd like."

"Food and presents work as an apology on Ron, not on me, Harry. Plus, I don't have time for breakfast now," she said exasperated and turned to follow Ron to the counter. "Like I said, I have an appointment in a few minutes, and I've wasted the last half hour trying to pull that stupid mirror off the wall. I thought I warned you both if you tried testing another Wheeze product on me again I'd hex your bits off."

She waved her wand threateningly at both of them once more before deciding to put it away; hexing them wouldn't do any good anyway. Instead she snatched the cup from Ron. "You know I really can't believe you'd make fun of me like that, Harry. A fake Mirror of Erised. Ha, ha, very funny. Just hilarious. Let's tease poor Hermione. You think I like—"

"Hermione," Harry interrupted and glanced at Ron before turning back to her, "first of all, we're not teasing you, and second, that mirror isn't a fake."

"What?" Her expression froze. She looked from Harry's serious face to Ron's and then back again. What were they saying? "Of course it's a fake. It's a poor and insensitive joke you've decided to play on me."

"No. No, Hermione," Ron said cautiously, shaking his head. "That mirror really is the Mirror of Erised, not a Wheeze product or any other. It's the real deal."

"It's real? That mirror's actually real?" she whispered incredulously, her head cocking to one side.

"Harry wanted to do something special for you for your birthday. He knows how … well, how crazy things have been for you. He thought if you could have something to look forward to, something to plan and strive for, you'd be happier."

"We thought the mirror …"

Hermione held up her hand.

"It's not a joke then?"

Harry shook his head no.

"So you're saying it just showed me my true desire? Just now. Upstairs? But I saw … I saw P—" Her hand shot to her mouth covering it before she blurted out the rest.

"Hermione, it's all right," Harry said. "You can tell us."

"Oh fuck!"

"Really it's okay, Hermione. It can't be that bad. Who'd you see?"

"It is that bad! What the hell!" She put her head in her hands and groaned with the realization that mirror had shown her Professor Snape as her true desire.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!"

Harry placed his hand on her back trying to comfort her, but she shrugged it off and backed away from him. "No! You know what? I absolutely refuse to believe this."

"But Hermione, the mirror doesn't lie. I'm sure it will work out. The mirror really knows what it's—"

"Just because the mirror supposedly shows me what I really desire does not mean it's obtainable, Harry. Didn't Dumbledore warn you about this? Did Ron ever make Head Boy? Did you ever get to spend time with your real family? And now, now, I have this knowledge with no way of making it possible." She let out a tiny scream of frustration.

"My life is already fucking complicated enough and now I have to deal with this, too."

"But, Hermione we were just trying to help."

"You two really know how to cock things up, don't you?" She started backing away from them toward the door. She needed to get out of there before she actually _did_ start crying. "Just do me a favor, okay, don't try to help me anymore. I can mange my own life. Really. I can!" And with that she slipped out the back door.

~~oOo~~

Harry and Ron stood there for a moment staring at the door.

"I told you it wouldn't go over well."

"Shut it, Ron. Sure she's a little upset right now but she'll be fine. She just has to get used to the idea first, I suppose," Harry said thoughtfully as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"I'm awfully curious to know who she saw though," he mumbled more to himself than Ron.

"A little upset?" Ron ranted. "I'm honestly surprised she left us standing. You better hope she calms down before tonight. It'd suck her not showing up to her own party. Or worse, have her show up and then hex us into the next decade." Ron snatched the cup from Harry and took a mouthful. "And what'd ya mean who? I'm telling you Hermione didn't see a who, she probably saw herself as Minister of Magic or some rot like that."

"No, it was definitely a who," Harry said. "I asked Kreacher for a couple of favors when I had him get the mirror from Hogwarts for me. Oh, and he said something about Fred wanting a favor, too. But he wouldn't tell me what it was."

"Awww," Ron moaned. "What'd the bloody hell did you get us into now?"

"Well, I had him place an extra spell on the mirror for us. A true love spell."

"You what?"

"Well it was your idea!" Harry snapped. "You're the one who said she wouldn't see iwho/i she desires but rather iwhat/i she desires. And by the way, thanks for throwing me under the bus there. i_'Harry wanted to do something special for you, Hermione.'/i _You bloody agreed to it."

"This was not my idea! And a true love spell **really** wasn't my idea!" Ron snapped back. "She's going to kill you. Kill us both for that matter. I hope Fred wants some company because we are both going to end up as ghosts!" He sank into the nearest chair. "You had Kreacher put a true love spell on it? Oh, fuck, Harry! We are so dead."

They glared at each other.

"Who do you think she saw?" Ron finally voiced the question they were both thinking after a few minutes.

"Don't know, and with that reaction I don't think she's going to tell us."

"You know, she almost let something slip. Started to say something with a P."

"Percy?"

"Percy? Oh, my God. Do you think that's who she saw?" Ron asked.

"I don't know, but who else can you think of that starts with a P? Pansy?"

They both giggled but shook their heads no.

"I bet you it is Percy," Ron said. "You know, I think they'd be perfect together."

"Yeah, they're a hell of a lot alike. But why was she was so upset about it? Percy's an all right kind of guy. A bit pompous, but Hermione could handle that."

"I don't know. Maybe she feels odd that he's my brother? Or, maybe it's because he's dating someone?"

"Could be. She did say it wasn't obtainable. But, if they're meant to be together …" Harry shrugged. "Do you think you could get him to come tonight?"

"I'm sure I could persuade him. I'll just need to make sure Annabeth is busy with something else."

"True," Harry said with a frown.

"I don't know, Harry," Ron said after a moment of thought. "Maybe we should just stay out of it. We've escaped Hermione's wrath this morning with our bits still intact. Why tempt fate?"

"No, no, don't worry. Just do your best to get Percy there tonight." Harry leaned over to kiss Ron's cheek. "This'll be a good thing, you'll see."

"You keep saying that, but somehow I don't know whether I should believe you or not."

A/N - This was written for dressagegrrl for the ss/hg exchange on livejournal. Thank you so much to her for the great prompt and thank you to my Beta, deemichelle and to my alpha reader, snapemylove. You guys are the best!


	2. Chapter 2

**Mischief Managed**

Hermione straightened her robes and smoothed her hair after Apparating to the alley next to The Three Broomsticks. She'd spent most of her day running around Muggle London on one wild goose chase after another. The Muggle recruiting agency had demanded all sorts of documentation and then when she'd finally retrieved it, she'd been told it wasn't necessary after all.

The world really was full of incompetent idiots! If the Muggle sector actually hired her, she was going to have to work very hard on her self-control. Her urge to hex stupid people was very, very strong. After all, that's what had started this whole unemployment mess in the first place.

Luckily the interview with the wizarding head hunter had gone much better. A wave of a wand and a short incantation and her résumé had been expanded and enhanced to include some of her lesser known skills and talents. It was quite fascinating actually, even if there were a few things that would have been better left unsaid. Like her proficiency in hexing.

Simon, the wizard recruiter, had looked over her résumé and proclaimed he had the perfect job for her. Even her worries over the Malfoy problem were discounted as just a slight annoyance. He was certain that this particular client would not be concerned with repercussions from them, or their cronies. Though it was odd that Simon hadn't wanted to divulge the nature of the job, Hermione had been too grateful to push the matter. The pay was good and the starting date would be almost immediate. Maybe, just maybe, her job search would soon be over.

She took a deep breath and attempted to get herself together before going into the pub for her party. Even though she felt like celebrating, she was still angry with the boys for their lack of forethought this morning. Harry probably meant well, he usually did, but tricking her into looking into the Mirror of Erised was just over the line.

The fact that she'd seen Snape was beside the point. She'd never admit who she saw, and for that matter, the mirror had to be wrong. Severus Snape was not who, or what, she desired. Honestly it's not like she'd ever thought of him in that way before. Not ever! Not even during the few interactions she'd had with him after the war. She admired him, yes. How could she not admire someone so intelligent and honorable? She even admired his sarcastic sense of humor. But it didn't mean she wanted him. Like that. Did it?

"I really am going crazy," she mumbled to herself. "I'm standing here contemplating Snape's redeeming qualities. I need to just forget about this whole thing." Her mind flashed to the images she seen that morning and she shuddered. No, Snape was not what she wanted. Taking another deep breath she walked around the corner.

~~oOo~~

The music inside the pub was loud, and she wondered idly if Harry had hired a band. Laughter was spilling out into the evening air. It sounded as if the party was well attended. She decided to let go of her anger. Resolved herself to being gracious. Harry and Ron always went to so much trouble to try and make her happy. They may have been completely misguided in their choice of gifts this morning, like usual, but they did love her.

Steeling herself, she swung the pub door open.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HERMIONE," everyone shouted. Hermione felt her face flush as she was enveloped in dozens of hugs and passed around the room from one friend to the other.

"Happy birthday, luv!" Ginny shouted and shoved a smoking Firewhiskey shot into her hand. Without thinking Hermione downed it. Oliver patted her on the back and smiled his crooked grin.

"Happy birthday!" Luna said kissing her on the cheek and handing her another full shot glass. "To Hermione, the most tenacious, the most intelligent, and the most scarily determined person I know." Luna drank the shot she held in her other hand. Shrugging, Hermione gulped down this one, too.

Luna scrunched up her face at the after burn from the shot and added, "Well, the second most scary," she hiccupped, "right under Professor Snape that is!" From somewhere she produced two more shots and handed one to Hermione.

She raised an eyebrow at her friend, wondering about the Snape reference—sometimes she swore Luna was clairvoyant—but clinked her third shot to Luna's anyway and drank down the yellow liquid inside. It was so sweet she almost gagged.

"Wasn't that delicious? It's a Sweet and Sour Albus," Luna chirped. "I think I'll get another."

Quickly grabbing the nearest passing ale Hermione took a few swigs before giving it back to its anonymous donor only to find that person to be Neville Longbottom. Looking up into his nervous face made it obvious he hadn't forgotten the disaster of a date they had shared a few months ago. She'd basically ranted the entire night, and cut the date short with her bad mood and rude comments. Ever the polite man, Neville wished her a happy birthday now, and they shared an awkward hug before he made his escape. Hermione vowed she'd find him later and apologize for her horrible behavior.

Parvati, followed closely by a handsome blond man Hermione had never seen before, bounced over to Hermione and placed a tiara that flashed 'Kiss me—I'm the birthday girl!' on her head. She also handed her a double shot glass which looked suspiciously like it contained tea.

"Drink up!" she shouted, smiling. Hermione drank up and sighed, she was right, it was tea—and now there were tea leaves stuck to the sides and bottom. Parvati snatched the glass from her and quickly gazed at the formation of the leaves before squealing loudly right during a break in the music. "Oh, Hermione! I see a new lover in your future. Aren't you a lucky girl?"

Hermione felt her cheeks grow hot, and she backed away from Parvati who had gained Lavender's attention. The two of them were gazing at the leaves now, ohhing and ahhing over what they saw, and making predictions Hermione really didn't want to hear. She hated Divination, and the mirror's inane revelation was more than enough for one day.

She tripped over a chair behind her and was surprised when a set of strong hands kept her from falling. Parvati's blond friend had caught her and was now smiling invitingly down at her. Normally she might have stayed and introduced herself, but something didn't feel quite right. He was blond and handsome, and his sharp nose reminded her of Snape. The thought of flirting with this man made her feel … disloyal? And it had nothing to do with the Patil twin.

That wasn't a thought she wanted to dwell on so she smiled sweetly, thanked him and quickly made a beeline for some people she'd not yet greeted.

Glancing around the crowded room, Hermione noted she couldn't see a single Slytherin—Draco Malfoy's influence no doubt—not that she was particularly friendly with many in the first place. Hermione couldn't help but wonder if Snape was on the list of those Malfoy influenced, but she shoved the thought aside as she finally found herself in front of her two best friends, both looking a bit shamefaced.

"Sorry, 'Mione," Harry whispered as he pulled her in for a tight hug.

"Me, too," Ron said, embracing her and Harry from behind. They both kissed her head.

"I'm still annoyed with you both, and you know I'll forgive you eventually.

"But don't think you're going to get off that easy," she added, smacking both their arms when they started grinning like idiots. "We'll be discussing why you think interfering in my life is such a smashing idea in the morning." She gave them a pointed look before smiling and gesturing to the room around her. "Look at this. Harry, you really outdid yourself this time. I don't think I've ever seen this place so packed. Thank you." She gave him another squeeze. "Did our whole year come?"

"Practically," laughed Harry. "I think you'll be surprised at some of the people who show up tonight." He winked at Ron over Hermione's head and grabbed her elbow steering her toward the bar. "Come on, I think you might have missed saying hello to a few people."

"Oh, I'm sure I did, but I need to use the loo and freshen up before I really start socializing. Think you can get me a snack while I'm gone? I'm starving!"

"Of course, what d'ya want?"

"Surprise me," she joked, and with a slight wobble to her step headed toward the little witches room.

~~oOo~~

Even the bathroom wasn't free of well wishers, and it was another ten minutes before Hermione could actually manage to use the loo. By the time she was done, the alcohol was having a pretty pronounced effect on her.

Stepping out of the cubicle, she concentrated on her feet. With one foot in front of the other, she slowly made it to the sink intent on splashing some cool water on her face to help steady her a bit. The tap didn't seem to want to budge so she ended up using her wand and a quick Augamenti. Face dripping, she finally brought her eyes to the mirror above the sink.

She barely stifled what would have been her second blood curdling scream of the day.

Hands over her mouth, she started shaking her head in disbelief. The image of Severus Snape was in the mirror above the basin—AGAIN! But this time her own reflection joined him. This Hermione wasn't horrified though. No, reflection Hermione looked happy, content, almost blissful.

She watched in growing alarm as reflection Snape moved her hair and gently placed a small kiss at the base of her neck.

Hermione felt chills run down her arm as she watched the two doppelgangers. The professor had begun to not just kiss, but gently nip and suck on the neck of her likeness.

Her hand unconsciously reached toward the mirror patting the spot where the professor's lips were pressing while her other hand touched the skin of her own neck. She could almost feel his lips brushing the sensitive skin there.

Twirling around so her back was to the mirror, she couldn't suppress the moan that escaped her lips.

No, no, no! She was supposed to be forgetting all about this.

A quick glance assured her that, thank Merlin, she was alone in the bathroom. She didn't want anyone seeing this! She knew the images weren't real and of course it was completely inconceivable that Snape—Professor Severus Snape!—would ever do that to her, nor would she want him to—right?—but her body didn't seem to agree. A warm tingling sensation had begun in her gut and her nipples had hardened at the sight of Snape lavishing attention on the neck of her likeness. Oh, how she wanted to turn around and watch the scenario play itself out. How she wished she could actually feel …

Grabbing her stomach she willed herself to calm down.

Why the hell was she wishing this? It wasn't possible. She needed to stop this madness before it really took hold of her.

A few deep breaths and a futile attempt to count backward from one hundred later, and she felt more in control.

Okay. Why in the hell was she seeing Snape in this mirror?

She started to hyperventilate again.

Oh, no! She really had cracked hadn't she? The mirror this morning had planted the image of Snape in her mind and now she couldn't get rid of it.

She snuck a look at the mirror from over her shoulder. Her likeness was now snogging Snape like there was no tomorrow. She watched as his hands slid down her sides and lifted her shirt off as they came up. His tongue flicked out and traced her collar bone.

"Ohhh," she moaned longingly but turned her head around again when his head dipped lower.

Maybe she was hallucinating from the booze?

The room began to waver and swirl around her.

Leaning over with her hands on her knees she let the dizziness pass.

The boys weren't stupid enough to play a prank on her—were they? No, they were much too fond of their bits to have placed some goofy spell on this mirror. She had to be going mad.

"You all right, Hermione?" A brunette girl she barely recognized asked.

She straightened and the dizziness washed over her again. How many shots had she had? Shaking her head slightly, she glanced back at the mirror again and yelped when she saw the professor slip a bra strap down the shoulder of her doppelganger.

Turning to look at the girl, Hermione nodded a quick yes, and stood as tall as she could to block the mirror behind her.

"Okay, well, happy birthday," the girl said, and with a confused look she stepped into the nearest cubicle.

"Thanks," she mumbled, and after another quick peek at the couple in the mirror she headed back to the party determined to really forget all about Severus Snape and this crazy delusion she was having.

~~oOo~~

The rest of the night went by in a blur. There was dancing, and drinking, and catching up with old friends, some of whom she'd not seen since Hogwarts. But unfortunately her mind kept returning to scene in the bathroom mirror. And to the Greasy Git—isn't that what the boys had branded him back at Hogwarts?—and his numerous appealing physical attributes. Yep, it was the Greasy Git they'd called him, but he wasn't greasy anymore. No, he looked pretty damn good to Hermione.

He was very manly, tall, slim, strong features and such agile fingers—how many times had she marveled at his adeptness as he chopped ingredients in the classroom. It made a girl wonder what else he could do with those fingers? Hmmmm … Oh, and that rich baritone voice, so strong and smooth. She wondered if he knew the power he wielded with that voice. She could only imagine how intoxicating it would be to hear him whispering naughty things in her ear. It was a good thing her hallucinations weren't auditory along with visual. She'd have melted into a pile of goo on that bathroom floor if they were!

Her musing was thankfully—or maybe not—cut short at that moment when Harry thrust her into Percy Weasley's arms and forced them to sit together in small booth near the door. It was pretty suspicious, not to mention odd, when all background noise suddenly disappeared around them.

"Hey, Perce," she said absentmindedly, glaring at Harry who stood a few feet away, an obvious sentry. Harry just beamed back at her like a miniature Dumbledore. She saw him beckon to Ron and pat him on the back triumphantly when he walked over to join him. Ron wasn't beaming though. No, he had that constipated look he got whenever he felt guilty about something.

They were up to something but her inebriated mind was slow in making the connection.

"… so Ron insisted I stop by this evening. What was it that you so urgently needed?" Percy's words slowly pushed their way through the fog.

"Hmmm?" she asked.

"Ron—he made it sound like it was life or death me showing up here tonight."

She glared at Ron, who suddenly found his feet to be the two most interesting objects in the room.

"I'm not sure, Percy, but look at those two; they're up to something."

Percy's expression darkened and he glared at Ron, who was now fascinated by his fingernails. "You didn't need to speak to me? I'm going to kill that little prat. I have big plans for this evening!" He started to get up, but Hermione laid a hand on his as something clicked in her brain.

"Wait one second, Percy. I think I know what happened. Your brother and Harry are complete fools and have put their big fat noses where they don't belong, yet again. I'm sorry they involved you. I can't explain, but believe me I _will _be getting them back for this. I just need you to stay a few moments longer to make it work."

Percy looked puzzled, but like most of the Weasleys, he trusted her on her word and he sat back down, albeit reluctantly.

"So, what are these big plans you have?" she asked politely.

Those two must think Percy was whom she'd seen in the mirror. Why else would Ron have made him come here tonight? Thank Merlin she had started to say Professor this morning rather than Severus. Sometimes her friends were too smart for their own good. Damn meddling fools. If they ever took to sucking lemon drops obsessively, or their eyes started twinkling, she was calling for an intervention.

"I'm asking Annabeth to marry me tonight," Percy said, his face reddening slightly.

Hermione leapt over the table. Not only was she super excited for Percy and his girlfriend but it was a great way to confuse the two idiots she called best friends. She hugged Percy and kissed him, congratulating him over-enthusiastically, knowing exactly how her actions would appear. They spoke for another fifteen minutes or so about his plans when he finally insisted he had to leave.

As they stood, Harry lifted the cone of silencehe had placed around them, and she took the opportunity to tell Percy—loudly—how happy she was he had stopped by and that she couldn't wait to hear from him again. She held on to him for much longer than was necessary during her goodbye and stared up into his eyes in what she hoped resembled a look of adoration. Then she proceeded to shock even herself, kissing him smack on the lips. Hopefully not too many people had seen that exchange; she'd hate to get Percy into trouble with his fiancée, but she could always explain it away as drunken behavior.

Her two best friends were going to feel like complete berks when they heard Percy's news, and she for one couldn't wait to see their faces!

The crowd was thinning now and Harry had left to Apparate Ginny and Oliver home, being the ever responsible host that he was. Ron was giving a lecture about something or another to a small group in the corner, and Parvati and her friend had just said their goodbyes. Parvati had mentioned her earlier predictions and expounded in her usual way; all the while Hermione had found herself staring at her companion's Snap-ish nose. So much so, that he'd taken her attention as an invitation to slip her his floo address with a wink when he shook her hand goodbye.

The whole Percy fiasco, and all the goodbyes, had distracted her for awhile, but now that she was left alone, her thoughts went back to Severus. Severus? Good lord, now she was thinking of him as Severus.

Her mind was adjusting to the possibilities he held—he was intelligent, well-versed in numerous subjects, loyal to a fault, reliable, dedicated, and of course, if his mirror image was true to form, she found him attractive.

Unbelievable! She had gone from utter rejection of the idea of Snape as a lover, to entertaining the possibilities of Snape as a mate.

A part of her really hoped that this had all been a bad joke and tomorrow she would forget about him and these crazy delusions she was having.

Because, there was no way it could work, was there?

Really, she couldn't be with someone so much older, a Slytherin,_** and**_ connected with the Malfoys, could she?

There would be a slew of interpersonal issues to work through, not to mention the certain condemnation of just about everyone they knew, wouldn't there?

It wasn't worth it, was it?

Oh for Circe's sake! She needed another drink!

Someone she could only vaguely remember from Hogwarts, in the year above her maybe, had introduced her to a new drink earlier in the evening. It was called the Slithering Snake, or something like that, and was served in a tall narrow glass. It was iridescent green and it tasted absolutely wonderful. She relished the smooth, creamy, slightly thick texture that caressed her tongue and throat as she swallowed it. And all she wanted in the world was to have another. Ordering one from the barkeep, she crawled up onto a spare stool and that's when her eyes focused on the mirror behind the bar that ran the length of the counter, which Rosmerta had recently installed saying it was so she could see what people were up to even if she had her back turned.

Right now, the only thing Hermione saw was a topless version of herself kneeling in front of Severus Snape. She didn't scream, this was becoming old hat, but she did close her eyes to calm herself.

When she again opened them, she nonchalantly scanned the establishment to make sure no one else had noticed images of half naked people in the mirror. She knew they were her delusions but still it didn't hurt to be cautious.

No one was looking her way—good.

She turned back to the mirror just in time to see her likeness unbutton Snape's trousers and reach her hand behind the black fabric. Her mouth gaped open as she watched her image in the mirror pull Snape's member confidently from his trousers. More shockingly though, was the fact that she was looking up at him with a wickedly predatory smile spread across her lips.

The barkeep set her drink in front of her and she nearly fell off the stool. Mumbling a quick thank you, she went back to watching the scene in the mirror. She just couldn't take her eyes off the image of Snape's most private, yet most impressive, body part as her likeness stroked its length. It was long and thick and flushed with desire. She let a groan slip out as she watched her counterpart wet her lips in anticipation.

"Oh, there you are, Hermione," Luna's voice interrupted Hermione's ogling of the scene unfolding in the mirror—_good Lord, now her doppelganger was moving to lick his … _"I see you're drinking one of those Slithering Snakes? They're my new favorite. I find them so … so …" Luna seemed to be searching for the right term, then brightened and continued, "orally satisfying."

Hermione choked down the mouthful of drink she'd been sipping as she continued looking at the mirror from out of the corner of her eye, and half turned toward Luna, her cheeks growing hot.

"Erm, what?"

"Slithering Snake," Luna repeated, holding up her empty glass with a smile. "Shall I get us another? Though, I'd like a double. Something larger, something to really fill me up." Luna glanced over Hermione's shoulder, clearly looking at the mirror. "Wouldn't you? Or, perhaps you'd prefer a Screaming Orgasm instead?"

Hermione quickly glanced back at the mirror, her likeness was now no longer just teasing Severus with her lips wrapped around his shaft, no; she was sliding up and down the length of it enthusiastically. Obviously enjoying herself as much as he was. His trousers were down past his thighs, and from this angle Hermione could see that his bits were being teased with her other hand, evidently driving him over the edge. A chair suddenly appeared, and Severus slid down onto it without ever breaking contact with her doppelgangers' mouth. Her ex-Potion's professor spread his legs apart, and threw his head back so his hair was no longer hiding his expression. She'd never seen such a look of unadulterated bliss on his face, or anyone's for that matter, before. A few moments later, Hermione was once again thankful for the lack of sound accompanying these delusions as Snape opened his mouth wide, obviously roaring his pleasure as his hips gave a shallow thrust forward and one of his hands buried itself in her likeness's hair.

"Hermione?" Luna prodded, gently shaking her shoulder.

"Orgasm," she squeaked and squirmed in her seat.

"Good choice," Luna said, flagging down the barkeep. "If you're going to indulge, you might as well thoroughly enjoy it, I always say."

Her reflection certainly seemed to be enjoying herself, Hermione thought, when she looked back to the mirror to see her image straddling Snape and the two engaged in the most passionate kiss she'd ever witnessed. There really seemed to be tremendous chemistry between the two. Too bad it was just a crazy delusion, without a chance in hell it could ever be reality.

She gulped down almost half her drink upon its arrival in a futile attempt to quench the arousal she was feeling. Unfortunately, the drink didn't live up to its name. She frowned at her glass.

"Wow! You must have really been thirsty," Luna remarked, looking at Hermione's face. "Either that or you were hoping that drink would be as pleasing as its namesake." She giggled.

"You have no idea," Hermione murmured absently, still staring at the couple in the mirror.

Thankfully, Harry sidled up beside them at the bar before Luna could comment again. "Ready to go, birthday girl?"

With one last glance at the mirror and the couple in it, Hermione slid off her stool and nodded yes.


	3. Chapter 3

~~**Mischief Managed**~~

_Tap_

_Tap_

_Tap_

"Mmmm …"

_Tap, Tap, Tap_

"Mmmm." Hermione rolled onto her side and pressed the pillow tightly to her ear hoping to drown out the maddening noise.

"Go away," she mumbled.

The tapping only got louder and more insistent after that.

With her head pounding so hard she had no choice but to rise and stumble to the window. She needed that infernal tapping to cease! Yanking open the pane with difficulty she was rewarded with a sharp peck on the wrist from the disgruntled owl on the sill.

"Ow! That was uncalled for," she said, slurring her words so that not even she recognized them.

The owl thrust his leg toward her and clucked disapprovingly. He ruffled his feathers in annoyance as she untied the scroll. When she tossed the parchment to the side and started back toward her bed he flapped his wings and screeched.

"Okay, okay. I'll read it now." She felt like death warmed over and the last thing she needed was this animal going into full attack mode.

Unrolling the scroll, her eyes took a moment to focus on the tight, cramped handwriting. Simon had arranged for an interview for today. He was sorry for the short notice but the employers wished for her to _blah… blah … blah…_

She dropped the letter to the side. She'd deal with it …

What!

An interview, today?

"Shit!"

The owl clucked as if to say 'I told you so', and took off through the still open window.

She picked the parchment back up and reread the letter. More slowly this time.

_Dear Miss Granger,_

_Pursuant to our meeting on September 19__th__ in which we discussed an opportunity I felt would meet your employment needs, I have arranged an interview with the prospective employer for today. I do apologize for the short notice, but they are very keen to fill the position as soon as possible, starting a week from Monday._

_I've taken the liberty of arranging a Portkey to the destination, leaving from the foyer in my office at 12 noon, sharp. _

_Looking forward to seeing you,_

_Simon Holmes_

_Wizarding Employment Agency (WEA)_

Hermione rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock. She still had two hours until she needed to meet with Simon to Portkey to the interview. That should be plenty of time.

A hangover potion sat on her bedside table with a large purple ribbon tied around it.

_Thought you might need this. Love, Harry _was scribbled on a piece of parchment under it.

She sipped the potion and sat down on her bed to give it a moment to take effect, making a mental note to thank Harry at some point. Her mind was flying. An interview! Perhaps a job.

Already!

Gulping the last of the potion and grimacing at the taste, Hermione felt her thumping head start to calm and the urge to crawl under a rock and hide from the world recede.

After getting out some fresh clothes and putting them on her bed, Hermione set off for the bathroom—wand in hand this time—to get showered and make herself feel human again.

She vaguely remembered getting home last night. Harry had rescued her from the mirror and more importantly from Luna. That witch had to be clairvoyant. Lav and Parvati played at Divination but Luna … Luna might actually be the real deal, even if she didn't realize it. She didn't remember exact words, just bits and pieces of conversations from the evening and the feeling that Luna saw more than most people did. It seemed everything that came out of her mouth was a double entendre.

And, of course, she remembered the smoking hot scenes she'd seen in the mirror.

Which brought her mind back to Severus Snape.

Hmmm … Severus. Who would have guessed the amount of passion the man was capable of displaying. It was hard to imagine that two days ago she would have laughed and most likely been disgusted at the thought of lusting after him. Now, here she was lamenting the fact that… well, he disliked her—a lot—and there was just no way she'd ever get in his pants, even if she wanted to.

Drying her hair with a small towel, and safely wrapped up in another, Hermione drew back the shower curtain and headed for the sink to clean her teeth. Glancing up at the mirror as she crossed the short space from the bath she was startled at the image of Severus stepping out of the shower behind her.

Hermione didn't scream this time, but she did gasp loudly. She was certain the delusions would have ended by now. Her birthday was over and she was sober. What was going on? That line of thinking quickly disappeared though as she continued to watch the pair in the mirror. In fact all thought was quickly disappearing.

Droplets of water glistened on Severus' almost hairless chest as he hungrily sized up her doppelganger. Hermione watched in growing amazement as Severus grew hard before her very eyes. This was much more … intense than anything the mirror had shown her thus far.

Her desire mounted as he wrapped his arms around her likeness, drawing away her towel. Once the towel was dispatched, one hand slid over her stomach on its way to her breast. The other hand slid south, settling between her legs, and showing Hermione just how adept those fingers really were. Her breathing grew labored as she watched Severus begin to pleasure her reflection.

Her likeness's breathing matched her own as Severus' hands teased and aroused her. He pinched and flicked a hardened nipple. His mouth caressed the skin of her neck while the other hand stayed firmly between her legs. If her doppelganger's face was any indication, Severus definitely knew exactly what he was doing.

Hermione watched greedily as Severus backed the pair through the bathroom door, stepping directly into what was surely a bedroom. She groaned as he lifted her mirror self up onto the bed, her hands sliding down her own body in imitation of his lips and tongue as he worked his way skillfully down her reflection's body until he came to rest, his face cradled between her thighs. Her fingers mimicked Severus' ministrations as she watched him pleasure her image.

Hermione could feel the pressure building, coiling within her. She was almost there … so very close. She saw Severus slide one finger into her reflection's writhing body and that pushed her over the edge. She screamed his name as ecstasy crashed over her and the last thing she saw before her eyes closed was the look of pure desire—body and soul—in Severus' eyes as he watched her doppelganger scream his name.

When at last she opened her eyes the only thing she saw was the sight of her own flushed face in the mirror.

~~oOo~~

"Morning, Ron."

"You're up?" they said at the same time.

Laughing Hermione sat down at her usual place at the table pulling the paper in front of her. She was still recovering from the incident upstairs and didn't particularly want to talk to Ron. She still blamed him for this mess, even if she was becoming more accustomed to the idea of Severus as her heart's desire. She'd even consulted her list after she'd re-showered just now. He filled every requirement and then some!

It was just so complicated. There would be so much opposition, but maybe they could find a way to make it work. She needed to figure out how to approach him as he was so secluded at Hogwarts. Maybe after she got her job situation sorted, she'd try to do some volunteer work there. She was pretty sure she could get Professor McGonagall to approve that, even if she wouldn't approve of her real reason for being there.

"Yep, I'm awake. I'm the one who was completely pickled and he's the having a lie in. Go figure." Ron passed her a mug. "Why are you up so soon? I'd have thought you'd be sleeping it off for hours yet."

"I have an interview in an hour! Can you believe it? Bloody owl wouldn't stop tapping on the glass until I got up. Thank Merlin for that!" she said with a grimace.

"Wow. All ready? That's amazing, Hermione. What's it for?

"Don't have a clue. Simon, the recruiter, didn't give me any details. Maybe it's for the Department of Mysteries." She wiggled her eyebrows. "Can't you see me as an Unspeakable?"

There were a few unspeakable things she'd like to do right now, all of them involving Severus.

"You'd be brilliant. You'll be brilliant anywhere, Hermione."

She just smiled at the compliment and started perusing the paper. She glanced up to find Ron staring intently at her.

"So, who is it, 'Mione? I know it's not Percy," Ron asked. He continued more tentatively, "I want you to know, too, that I'm really sorry about all this. I had a few misgivings about the Mirror, but, well … you know how convincing Harry can be when he sets his mind to something."

She put down the paper and looked at him hard. She was sure it hadn't been too difficult for Harry to persuade Ron. "How do you know I didn't see Percy, huh, Ron? How do you know I saw a person at all?" If they'd had this conversation yesterday Ron would be crucified already, but after everything she'd seen, and her own change of heart, she wasn't as angry as she had been or should be. That didn't mean she'd make it easy on him though.

"Well, since you didn't ask why I was up so early I didn't tell you. Had an Owl from Mum. Perce has asked Annabeth to marry him and she's accepted. But you know all about that, don't you?"

"He told me last night, yes. That was a crummy thing to do to the both of us. Especially knowing how much he loves her. I mean really; what if I had seen his image? You think he would have just up and left the girl he's been with for two years because of some stupid mirror and my revelation of love?"

Ron looked constipated again and she couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"The two of you really need to think things through better, Ron. I'm not saying that you weren't well intended, I'm sure you were, but you forgot to think about what the consequences of all of this would mean to me. What if I would have seen myself as a maid at Malfoy Manor or running away to join the Muggle army? How would that have affected my life? And all of yours?"

Ron opened his mouth and then shut it. He fiddled with his mug and took a few gulps of the black coffee he preferred now that she had introduced it to him. When he opened it again his words came out in a massive rush. _"Weknewyouwouldn'tseesomethinglikethat.__."_

"What? Slow down, Ronald. Harry had Kreacher do what?" Hermione asked, her leg starting to shake in agitation.

"True love spell," Ron choked out and sort-of scrunched down in his chair. She was sure he thought she was going to hurt him somehow.

"True love spell?" she asked quietly and then watched Ron slink even lower in his chair. They had Kreacher place a true love spell on the mirror. So, not only was Severus her heart's desire but he was supposed to be her true love, too. She needed a minute to process that. Damn it, sometimes she really hated magic!

"Are you going to kill us?" Ron stuttered when she hadn't moved for a while. "I really am sorry. This is probably the stupidest thing we've ever done, Hermione, and you're right, we didn't think it through. But you have to believe we thought we had your best interests at heart."

"I don't know what to say, Ron. I should be really angry, but I'm not sure how I'm feeling at the moment. This is a lot to take in." She'd finally come to terms with the whole idea of actually lusting after Severus Snape, a man twenty years her elder and nearly impossible to get to, and now this. True love? It was so final.

"You know we love you, don't you? And we'd never do anything to hurt you on purpose. I know I say stupid things, but—"

She waved her hand to quiet him. "Yes. Yes, I know all of that, which is why I'm still sitting here, and _you're_ still alive."

She held up her hand for him to stop when he opened his mouth.

She debated telling him that according to the mirror her true love was no other than his least favorite person in the world. "I hope you're prepared to be unhappy with the mirror's choice," she said instead. She didn't think she was ready to reveal Severus' name just yet.

"It doesn't matter if I like him. I'm not the one he's meant for. What's important to me is that you're happy."

"Really, Ron? So you'd be willing to accept whoever it is no matter what your preconceived notions are about him?"

Ron was quiet for a few minutes, and when he spoke, Hermione was shocked for more reasons than one at what came out of his mouth. "Yes. I'll accept whoever it is, no matter what, even if it's … Hell, I don't know—Snape?"

Hermione did her best not to react to his name but she could feel her cheeks start to redden.

"Oh shit. You didn't see Malfoy in the mirror, did you? Or McLaggen?" Ron's eyes were wide with concern. Luckily he had completely mistaken her reasons for blushing! She guessed it was too much for him to even consider that Severus could be a possibility.

She snorted in disgust. "No not Draco, or Lucius for that matter. Thank Merlin! But I did see a Slytherin."

"Well that figures," Harry interjected as he stepped into the kitchen. "I guess it's not Percy then?"

"Morning, Harry."

Harry bent down to kiss her cheek and then sat next to Ron.

"So, we're talking about the mirror? Have you forgiven us yet?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and made an impulsive decision. She would just tell them and let the chips fall where they may. Because she'd made up her mind. She **was** going to pursue a relationship with her ex-professor whether the boys liked it or not. This was her life and if they wanted her to be with her true love this bad, so be it!

"Yes, I've forgiven you. I'll even go as far as to thank you. Because of your gift I'm going to do my damndest to pursue a relationship with the man I saw in the mirror. Severus Snape." She sat back in her chair and smiled—watching the chips fall.

Harry jumped up immediately. "**_What?_** Snape? It can't be!"

Ron just cocked his head and nodded. "I can see it."

"Are you off your rocker, Ron?" Harry yelled. Turning toward Hermione he said, "The mirror has to be wrong."

"Really?" Hermione said a bit peeved at his comment. "And why not Severus Snape? You wanted me to be happy. You wanted me to find a partner. Enough so that you had Kreacher fiddle with that mirror. It's your own fault if you don't like it."

"But … but … he's old. And mean. And … and … he was a Death Eater!"

"He was exonerated, Harry; you just have a problem with him because your father did. You haven't let go of a grudge that was never yours in the first place. It's a dead man's grudge, your fathers—not yours! Don't you think it's time you got over yourself."

"Hermione," Ron said in warning.

"Well it is!" She turned back to Harry. "You put this in to play, now deal with it."

"It won't work! There are too many problems with the two of you being together." He stopped short and took a hard look at her, his eyes going up and down her body. _"Ewwww!"_ He scrunched up his face. _"Eww. Ewww. Ewwwww."_

"Oh don't even start! I watch the two of you snuggle all the time! Don't you think that's a bit EWWWWWWW for me?" she shouted back at him.

"She has a point there, Harry."

They both turned to Ron, shushed him, and continued arguing.

Harry went on to argue all the reasons a relationship between Severus and Hermione would be impossible, and she found it surprisingly easy to counter everything he said with a positive. Honestly his bias on the subject only made Hermione more determined to be with the professor.

After one too many times of Harry discounting the mirror's powers, Ron had finally spoken up. Once he mentioned how instrumental the mirror had been in their relationship Hermione knew her fight was won! Ron wouldn't let Harry get away with being a bloody hypocrite!

She was out the door a moment later, leaving Harry back pedaling as Ron looked on in irritation.

She swore she saw Ron wink at her as she left. No doubt Ron would be feeding off of Harry's guilt on this one for quite a while.

~~oOo~~

She felt the oppressive squishing of the Portkey and a moment later there was cold marble under her bum. Would she ever be able to Portkey gracefully, she wondered? She wished Simon had given her more details, but when she had arrived late at the office, he'd only had time to shove some papers in one hand and a rusty nail in the other. She hadn't even heard the entirety of his good wishes before the key activated.

Picking herself up off the floor she looked around and realized she was standing in front of the door to the Hogwarts Headmaster's office. Luckily the hall was free of students because before she knew it she was sitting on the floor again head in hands. Of all the luck!

This was the perfect job for her?

Well, she had wanted a chance to get close to Severus and here she was about to get her wish.

So why then was her stomach tied up in knots?

She pulled herself off the floor and straightened out her robes.

"Detention, Hermione?" a familiar voice called out. "Were you a naughty girl, are you being sent to see the headmistress? Or are you here for _other _reasons?" Fred floated nearer, an extremely smug look on his transparent face. Even more smug than usual.

"Ha, ha, Fred. It's nice to see you, too."

"Yes, it's always a pleasure—for you. So," he tapped a finger to his chin as he watched her stand, "how was your birthday? Anything special happen? Any unusual presents?"

"I already know you were instrumental in procuring my gift—my highly inappropriate gift, mind you— so don't play coy."

"Inappropriate? I don't think it was inappropriate. Actually I think it was the perfect present for you. Just what **you** needed." He smiled mischievously making Hermione fidget, she had reason not to trust that smile.

"So what are you here for then? Looking for anyone in particular?"

"No!" she said a little too quickly. "I've an interview, if you must know."

"Oh!" he exclaimed loudly, a huge grin replacing his smirk. "I never thought about that. So smart! Well, I'm sure you'll get just the welcome you're hoping for," he finished cryptically and floated away.

What was that supposed to mean? Damn ghost! He couldn't know who'd she seen, could he? Seriously, he was more dangerous dead than alive.

The door behind her creaked open and Hermione gathered the papers that had scattered across the floor—and her courage—and began walking up the steps. A voice was floating down the passage way. A rich baritone that made her heart race.

This is what she wanted she reminded herself as the urge to run in the other direction almost overtook her. Working here would be perfect. It would give her the advantage of being near him and it would also give her an opportunity to get to know him as a man, not her teacher, without seeming so suspicious. Plus it would be a job. A profession, even!

"Minerva, he's a menace! I'd rather have twenty Peeves and a Neville Longbottom constantly in my classroom than one ghostly Fred Weasley and his incessant pranks. Did you know it was he who was responsible for the loss of an entire month's worth of Mandrake preparation?"

"Oh, Severus. He's harmless."

"Harmless! Do you want to hear his latest? He and one of your bloody 'free' elves placed a magical item in my room this morning and it almost gave me a heart attack."

"Oh, Severus, a magical item? In Hogwarts? Oh my! Not that." She coughed and then said more quietly, "Who knows, maybe it will do you some good."

"Minerva," he said in what sounded like a whine to Hermione. Severus Snape could whine? "It's a very powerful magical item, and I can't seem to get rid of it no matter what I do."

"Would you like me to t—"

"No!" Hermione heard him say quickly over McGonagall's receding voice. "I'll remove it … somehow. I just want you to keep that menace out of my rooms!"

"Well, if all goes well in the next twenty minutes, Severus you'll have a little less daily aggravation to deal with. Maybe then Fred's antics won't bother you as much, because you know as well as I do I won't be able to control him. Nor would I try.

"Now the candidate from the employment agency is standing outside the door, shall we invite her in?"

"I'll leave first. I still don't think there's a need."

"You'll like this one, Severus. She's more than qualified and will suit your needs perfectly."

"It won't matter. Just another dunderhead, I'm sure."

"Oh, think positive, Severus," Dumbledore's voice chimed in.

"Yes, think positive; she might be just what you've been searching for."

Hermione heard Severus grunt in disgust before McGonagall called, "Ms. Granger, come in please."

Hermione slowly opened the door trying to control the blush she knew was coloring her cheeks.

She smiled graciously at the headmistress and glanced around the room noting the subtle changes to the décor. Not being able to help herself, she glanced up at the wall and was surprised to see Professor Dumbledore smiling down at her. She'd not been in this office since before the final battle, and it was a bit shocking seeing the old man twinkling at her as healthy looking as he'd been when she was a first year. She smiled back and finally turned toward the man of her recent fantasies.

He was standing dressed in his customary black trousers and a crisp linen white shirt, his arms folded across his chest in a very familiar pose though his back looked more rigid than customary. She would have been shocked to see him without his cloak had she not become accustomed to the image of his barely clad doppelganger. The mirror had shown her a true to life image, though. He was heavier, his hair was longer, and he looked healthy.

The only difference was the expression he wore. Gone was the look of desire she'd last seen, instead he looked a bit stunned but a moment later his face settled back into the sneer he used in the Potion's classroom. If she wasn't mistaken though, there was a bit of extra pink at his cheeks.

Interesting.

"Hermione, you look absolutely wonderful!" Professor McGonagall began. "I heard you had a birthday yesterday." She rose and gave Hermione a one armed hug. "Happy birthday!"

"Thank you, Headmistress," Hermione replied, returning the hug and passing the folder of papers to her old professor.

"Let's get on with it now, shall we? And please, call me Minerva," she said as she walked around to sit behind her large desk. "I'm sure we'll be working closely from here on out. It's only right you use my proper name."

Snape huffed his disapproval, as he leaned against a nearby wall.

Hermione glanced in his direction, this wasn't going to be an easy relationship to have, no; it was going to be a damned hard one. Good thing she was as stubborn as he was. Sighing inwardly she sat, folded her hands in her lap and replied, "Thank you, Minerva."

"Now, as you may have heard, I plan on retiring at the end of term," Minerva informed her immediately. She never was one to mince words. "Severus will take over as headmaster upon my departure. I'm not as spry as I once was, and would like to have a mild year as my last. Therefore, we would like you to take over the Potion's classroom so Severus can start the transition now."

This was news to Hermione. Minerva looked meaningfully at Severus who stood as he had moments ago, a scowl etched deep in his brow. He started to shake his head no.

"For the next year, Hermione, you will work closely with Severus instructing first through fifth-year students," she continued before he could speak. "At the end of term, we will assess whether you will take on the rest of the years or if Severus will continue teaching the upperclassmen along with his headmaster duties."

Snape's posture became even more rigid, if that was possible, and Hermione imagined storm clouds forming over his head as the tension in the room grew heavy.

"But," Hermione began to protest, but silenced herself as Minerva continued.

"You'll do well in this post, and we have no other suitable candidates," she said pointedly, shuffling through papers on her desk, clearly having done so numerous times prior to this meeting. "You see here? Not a one," she repeated, shaking the stack in her hand. "I only wish you would have been available before the school year began."

Snape pushed himself off the wall moving to grasp the pile she was waving around, when one shake too many sent the parchment scattering across the room.

Hermione heard him mumble something unintelligible, and leaned forward straining to listen. As she did, his black-clad backside came into full view, causing her to gasp and bite her lip. She felt that familiar tingle and wiggled back in her chair not daring to look up.

Minerva cleared her throat and Hermione raised her eyes to see Minerva looking at her a calculating gleam in her eye.

"Severus, I'll get the rest," she said dismissively. "I'll finish the interview and we'll discuss the details of Hermione's position later."

Hermione's watched as he handed the headmistress the gathered applications.

"I see my opinion doesn't count for nil, so I'll leave you to it," he said, then turned and left the room, never once looking in Hermione's direction.

She couldn't help but turn in her seat and watch his retreating form. Breathing in deeply she returned her focus back to Minerva. "It's obvious Professor Snape still holds no liking for me."

"No," Minerva replied after a moment of silence, "I do believe a lot has changed from both of your points of view." She held the retrieved parchment up, nodding her head knowingly. "I saw your reaction to—"

"Now, Minerva," came Dumbledore's voice, startling Hermione so that she looked toward his portrait, "you know Miss Granger is the perfect candidate for this position. Let's not goad her into leaving before she's properly accepted."

"Butt out, Albus. I think the girl should know that Severus isn't completely opposed to working with her. Nor do I think she'd opposed to working _closely _with him." A sly smile graced her wrinkled face.

Hermione looked down at her hands. So Minerva **had** caught her ogling Severus' arse.

"He barely put up a fuss, which means he agrees that you'll do well." She took a quill and signed a piece of parchment that was on the desk in front of her. "He just doesn't know how to express himself properly."

She looked pointedly at Hermione.

"Remember that, Hermione. He's just a lot of hot air. Get past the bluster and you'll like the man underneath.

"Now, here's your contract," Minerva said. "Read it over, owl me with any questions or concerns which may arise. I'll expect you to report for duty no later than Friday. We'll get you settled and you can begin teaching on that Monday."

Hermione took the papers, nodding her head. "I don't know, Minerva, there's so much to think about," she stuttered. This was all happening too quickly. Severus. Potions. Assistant Professor. Hogwarts. Her head was spinning. Yes, she wanted him, she wanted this, but was it the right thing for her to do?

"That's understandable, my dear. Although," Minerva looked past her at the door, "I don't see why you wouldn't want to come back to Hogwarts. There's so much waiting for you here."

Hermione found herself being directed to leave a moment later.

"Take this," Minerva instructed, hugging her close. "It's a Portkey back to Grimmauld Place. I'll expect your signed contract on my desk by tomorrow."

Hermione had just enough time to hug her old professor back, before the small cauldron she'd been handed activated, and she found herself in the library of Grimmauld Place.

It only took a moment and the memory of Severus' backside before Hermione signed the contract and sent it back.


	4. Chapter 4

~~Mischief Managed~~

Her first day hadn't gone as well as planned. Two melted cauldrons and three first years moved to tears. Teaching wasn't as easy as she thought, but she knew it wouldn't be long before she found a routine that worked for her. It would be easy to settle into a life here, if only … well, if only she could get Severus to speak to her.

She's chosen quarters near the classroom, and near Severus, though she'd not seen him once all weekend. She couldn't say the same for Fred though. The mischievous ghost had been following her about from the moment she'd arrived, telling jokes and casting insinuations at every turn.

She'd finally resorted to threatening him with his mother yesterday evening. A look of terror and he'd taken off in the other direction. Funny how that still worked.

Thankfully she hadn't seen Fred all day today, because finally seeing Severus, and being in the same room with him, had been almost more than she could handle. He'd shoved the lesson plan, without a word or a glance, at her early this morning and retreated to a far corner half hidden behind a shelf to observe her during the first class.

She wasn't sure if she'd been relieved or disappointed when he had stomped into his office after she'd helped a second year pick up the shrivel weed he'd dropped. It wasn't until after she'd crawled about on her hands and knees that she realized she probably should have used her wand. Crawling around with her bum in the air wasn't very professor-like.

After the class, she tried to enter his office to apologize, but the door was locked and he wouldn't answer.

The next time she saw him was after lunch. Entering the storeroom to gather ingredients, she physically bumped into him. His hands had automatically gone to steady her but before she could even comprehend what had happened he was gone. His touch had lingered though. It had taken all her concentration during the next hour to not close her eyes and daydream about those hands on her body.

The day had ended and though they'd sat next to each other at dinner, he hadn't looked at her once. She was certain he was aggravated with her for her actions in the classroom, but it was only after being prodded by Minerva that she gathered her Gryffindor courage and decided to confront him. She knew this wasn't going to be easy but to get to the next step he had to at least speak to her, didn't he?

Raising her hand to knock on his office door she was surprised when the door swung open slightly. Pushing it with her toe to create an opening, she peeked into the office. Severus sat at his desk with his chair pushed back and to the side. The Mirror of Erised was hanging on the wall behind him, a perfect angle for Hermione to see what he was so raptly watching.

Oh! The mirror!

Regrettably, after she had signed her contract and sent it back to Hogwarts, all the mirrors had gone back to only showing her reflection and nothing more. She had survived on her dreams and her active imagination for the week leading up to arriving here and now she knew why the mirror had stopped. It was showing him the scenes instead.

She watched quietly as his doppelganger wrapped his arms around her likeness, pulling her close and kissing her. She could see their tongues slide against one another as they explored one another's mouth. Hands clutched and caressed, as they too, explored each other's bodies frantically.

The real Severus rubbed a flat hand against his groin and stretched his long legs out in front of him. Hermione bit her lip. She could hardly believe this was actually happening.

Her likeness took a step backward and slowly began unbuttoning her robes a teasing smile on her face, surprising the real Hermione that she could actually look that tempting. Obviously she wasn't the only one who thought so, because both Severus' licked their lips in anticipation and the real Severus let out a guttural moan when the robes slid down her doppelganger's body revealing nothing underneath.

She watched mesmerized as Snape's reflection grabbed her roughly, his expression lust filled, and bent her over what looked to be his desk.

Merlin! How many times had she daydreamed about this very scene in the last week?

She actually swooned and fell into the door causing it to open all the way. This whole thing was too much for her. She was tired of watching—fantasizing. She was ready for the real thing already, damn it!

He jumped when the door banged and stood so quickly she barely had time to recover before he was glaring at her from his position in front of the mirror.

When he saw it was her, he backed closer to the mirror and puffed out his chest, his black eyes wide.

"What are you doing, Ms. Granger?" he snapped.

"May I enter, Professor?" she asked politely. She was positive he would catch how breathless her voice sounded.

She took a step forward as she said this and the door swung closed. Her head swiveled to look behind her when she heard the lock click in place. When her gaze returned forward a dark cloth was hung over the mirror and the professor was standing half hidden behind his desk oblivious to the locking of the door.

Interesting.

Well this explained his actions toward her, and the magical item he's been complaining about to Minerva. If he was still being subjected to these images more than a week later, she wondered if he was resisting the idea more than she had.

Although, the way he'd been staring at the scenario playing out just now, she didn't think he'd be resisting much longer.

No. Not if she had her way.

Hopefully looking more confident than she felt, she strode into the office and gave him the most alluring smile she could muster. She tried hard not to look at the wall behind him.

"Hello, Professor. I thought it would be nice for us to review my first day together," she said as nonchalantly as she could.

His eyes flicked to the mirror and back to her obviously deciding she hadn't seen anything.

"Very well, I suppose we must," he said slowly as if he was resigning himself to being annoyed. He sat at his desk and tried to discreetly adjust himself.

Hermione bit her lip. It was powerful knowing the kind of thoughts that were running through his mind and knowing for a fact that she was the star.

She leaned slightly over the back of the guest chair in front of his desk pushing her arms together so that her cleavage was in his direct line of sight.

"Do you have any feedback for me, Severus? I was so disappointed when you left this morning. I know crawling around on the floor was unseemly but …" she stopped herself when he squirmed in his seat, his eyes still staring at her chest. Oh! It wasn't that she'd been unprofessional, no; it was that his imagination had taken hold of him. He must have liked the way her bum looked all pushed up in the air like that. Probably as much as she had liked his when he'd bent over during her interview.

So, how brave was she? Could she do this? He wasn't yelling at her or throwing her out of his office—yet—so would he let her take this to the place she really wanted it to go?

She pushed up from the chair and gathered ever ounce of courage she had. As she headed closer to his desk and to the mirror Severus leaned back, subtly trying to protect the item behind him.

"Ms. Granger, please sit." He gestured to the chair, his eyes still south of her face. "Let's go over the day as you had suggested." His voice was deep and rough and the tone sent shivers down Hermione's spine.

Ignoring his words she came to rest on the corner of his desk. Looking down at him she gestured at the mirror with her head. "What's this?" But before she could reach forward to pull down his cloak from its place covering the mirror he was standing in front of her his eyes flashing but his cheeks flushed.

"You should leave now, Ms. Granger. What is in my office is none of your business. I was attempting to be congenial, but you are trying my patience."

"I'm just curious, Professor. I thought I saw something when I first walked in. Actually, I thought I saw myself. Did I, _Professor_?" She leaned forward as she asked this, entering his personal space. _Mmm, he smelled amazing._"Don't I have the right to know if it was?"

"Ms. Granger I must ask you once again to leave," he blustered as she backed him up a pace pushing her body against his to distract him.

A quick reach around him and she grabbed the cloak and uncovered the mirror.

Severus froze and she peeked around his body. Obviously their doppelgangers had continued on even without an audience. They were both lying naked on his desk passionately kissing.

"Oh! So this is where the mirror got off to." She looked back up at him calmly. "First tell me what you see and then I'll leave. If you still want me to," she added coyly.

"That's … that's none of your concern," he stuttered out.

"Fine then. Would you like to know what I've seen, Severus? What I'm currently seeing? You might find it of particular interest." She looked him up and down, practically devouring him with her eyes. "I know I do."

He fidgeted. Yes, Severus Snape fidgeted. And then he audibly gulped. "I don't believe I do. Now leave," he snapped.

"I don't think I will." She licked her lips and gazed up at him in invitation.

"Please?" he asked, clearly embarrassed and completely out of his element.

"No."

"Fine! Then I shall," he mumbled and removed himself from in front of Hermione.

Insufferable man!

She was practically throwing herself at him and he was leaving. Maybe the mirror really was wrong. A feeling of defeat washed over her.

He cursed loudly and then she heard him utter a quick _Alohomora. _She guessed he really hadn't heard the door lock behind her as she came in.

"It's locked, Severus."

He didn't respond but she could hear him continue in his attempt to release the spell that seemed to be holding them captive.

She looked at the mirror and was surprised to see the two figures sitting, arms entwined, staring back at her.

Her doppelganger smiled at her, kissed Snape's likeness and then pointedly looked in the direction of the real Severus.

She frowned at the mirror. Would it be that easy? The Snape behind the glass nodded his head encouragingly.

Well, she had nothing to lose at this point, so she turned to the man muttering furiously at the door. Not trying to be sexy or seductive, she insinuated herself between him and the exit, rose on her tip toes and kissed him squarely on the mouth.

He froze. Her lips slid over his as she tried to coax him into responding, but after several seconds of absolutely no response, not even a twitch, she pulled back with a heavy sigh.

That seemed to snap him back to awareness, because he yanked her back against him, kissing her with a fervor she'd only seen in the mirror, his hands searching out buttons with amazing speed.

"Severus, slow down." She pulled back gasping for air.

Severus stilled, his back stiffening. "I'm sorry. I thought this is what you wanted. After all, you were the one who assaulted me."

"Assaulted?" Hermione laughed. "I hardly think a kiss is an assault."

Severus removed his hands from her. She grabbed them before he could pull away completely, placing them back at her hips. She wasn't going to let him retreat again. Not when she finally had his full attention.

"I just meant that I wanted us to go a little slower. I want to remember this, whatever is happening between us. I want it to be every bit as good as everything I've been dreaming about for the last week."

He pulled her closer again. "Dreaming? Really?" he said as if he didn't believe her.

Oh, there was that lust-inducing baritone again. Yes, it was so much more powerful with the audio.

"Severus, I've seen images in that mirror, just as you obviously have, and I thought I was going insane. But I couldn't get you out of my mind even when they disappeared. I obsessed on what I'd seen, and not just the racy parts. I obsessed over you. I just want to know this is for real. For both of us."

He subtly ground his hips against her abdomen. "Well I can assure you that biI/i/b am definitely real, Hermione. And as to those images, you aren't the only one who thought they were experiencing delusions. As much as I wanted to believe it was possible, that you would even look at me in the way your reflection looked at my likeness, with love in your eyes, I never imagined any of it could actually happen."

His voice practically vibrated through her.

"So what did you see, Hermione?" he whispered into her ear. "Tell me."

"Oh no! I want to know what it showed you," she insisted, tilting her head toward the mirror. "Look. Tell me what you see now."

Severus turned her to the mirror, his arms still wrapped around her. He kissed her neck before looking into the mirror, giving Hermione a moment of déjà vu. They looked almost exactly as they had when she had seen them in the mirror on her birthday.

"Well that's odd," he said, finally giving the mirror his full attention. "I don't see anything but our actual reflection this time."

"Oh! You're right. That is odd."

"Perhaps, we are supposed to make our own scenario this time?"

Hermione's answering smile when she saw its reflection looked familiar, too. It was wicked, almost predatory. She turned around in his arms. "Now there's an idea I am definitely in favor of."

Those were the last words spoken for a very long time.

The mirror's scenes didn't hold a candle to the real thing. He kissed like a dream. Such urgency, such passion, and in an unexpected surprise, so tender. And those fingers! They were just as marvelous as she had suspected.

A hidden double door at one side of the office opened widely into his bed chamber and they left a trail of clothes as they slowly made their way to the bed. When the back of her legs bumped against the edge, they finally broke apart to catch their breath and she got a good look at him. His skin seemed to gleam in the low light of the candle sconces. He was thin, but fit. He had broad shoulders, and the mirror hadn't exaggerated when it came to his muscled, sparsely haired chest. His hips were narrow, his legs long and lean. She almost swooned though at the sight of his most impressive, very eager looking, member that she'd only seen in the mirror.

From the hungry look in his eyes, he apparently liked what he saw as well. With a rumbling growl, he lifted her up onto the bed. He lavished her body with roaming, lingering kisses. She literally whimpered when he laved her nipples with his tongue. She was writhing beneath him by the time he made his way down her body to where she wanted him to touch her most. He teased, licked and suckled until she screamed with pleasure. The scenario she'd seen in the bathroom at Grimmauld Place brilliantly executed down to the last detail. But this time she wanted more.

So much more.

"Severus, please. I … I need you," she panted when she finally came back down from her flight of ecstasy.

His smug smirk was incredibly sexy as he looked up at her from between her thighs.

They moaned in unison as he slowly entered her. He felt amazing, filling her, stretching her. She pulled him down for a kiss as they established a slow, steady rhythm. She wrapped her legs around him, kissing and nibbling her way down his neck and collarbone as the heat built low in her abdomen.

"Vixen," he groaned when she nibbled on his earlobe.

Oh! He liked that! She repeated the act. He snapped his hips hard. She whimpered and wrapped her legs tighter, the heat spiking and burning up her spine.

"Oh! Severus! Again. Do it again."

He snapped his hips again, drawing another whimper of pleasure from her, then increased the pace. The heat grew and expanded within her until she couldn't hold it in any longer. She bit down on his shoulder to stifle her scream of pleasure. She vaguely heard his roar of "Hermione!" through the sound of her pulse whooshing through her ears. She felt as if their souls connected in that moment and all was right with the world.

He smiled at her as she finally came back to her senses. The first genuine smile she'd ever seen from him. It was incredibly tender and incredibly sexy. Something she could get used to seeing every day of her life.

For the next few hours they lay next to each other quietly talking as they explored each other's bodies with fingers and lips until they fell blissfully asleep.

When Hermione woke, snuggled next to Severus and wrapped up in his warm comforter, she thought she'd woken from a dream. Everything she had never known she wanted was in this perfect man next to her. As much as she hated to admit it the mirror had been right. Severus Snape was her soul mate.

A slight cough caught her attention and she jumped with a start when she glanced through the double doors into Severus' office.

Fred's transparent form beamed down at her from his perch on top of the mirror's peak. With a wink and grin he disappeared. A moment later the mirror flashed and Hermione saw two words appear across the glass… _**Mischief Managed! **_and then with a pop … it too was gone.

**A/N:** Sorry about the long wait for this chapter! Thank you again to Deemichelle and Snapemylove for all the support and suggestions. I love you guys!


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